A Horrifying, Relevant and Masterful Horror Feast

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2008)

Let me first say that 28 Days Later is not for everyone. This film shows, right from its chilling opening sequence, that you should have a reasonably strong stomach for what is about to come. This film has a considerable amount of blood and gore. But, unlike other gory horror films, 28 Days Later isn't using the blood to power the story. Instead, this film is using it to enhance the story.
28 Days Later is one hell of a horror movie. Not only does it have the quintessential ingredients for a successful horror movie (intense atmosphere, nail-biting suspense, sympathetic characters etc) but it also throws in several other advantages, such as compelling direction, confident performances and a genuinely scary and clever script, which squeeze all of the terror out of even the quietest scene. From the word go, this film just doesn't let up.
A bicycle courier named Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up in a deserted hospital. Upon further investigation, he discovers that the situation is the same throughout the whole city of London, and he soon discovers why. Upon being rescued from strange, rampaging people by survivors Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley), it is revealed that a deadly virus has been unleashed. How far it has spread is unknown, but a certain fact is that anyone who is infected transforms into a snarling, ravenous monster craving human blood. Upon the way to safety, the survivors encounter a father and daughter (Brendan Gleeson and Megan Burns). Together, they trek across the country in an attempt to escape from an horrific fate.
Undoubtedly, the film's biggest achievement is the way in which it accomplishes the huge feat of making us believe that large cities such as London have really been deserted (well, mostly). The gritty and realistic way in which the filmmakers complete this task is both powerful and iconic, and is likely to be the thing that people remember most fondly after watching this movie.
As with any horror film, the force which threatens the characters should be starkly terrifying if the film is to truly make us wonder who will survive the ordeal, and 28 Days Later has a hell of a threat on display; a highly contagious and uncontrollable virus. Once someone has been infected, there is no hiding it, like if a film character was bitten by a zombie. That person has from 10 to 20 seconds before they become a blood-thirsty, rampaging monster, not quite a zombie but entirely devoid of human instincts and rationality. These guys are fast, nasty and utterly horrific.
The actors are excellent throughout the entire course of the film. They are given terrific material here, and all of the cast sink their teeth into it. Even the smaller characters, such as Noah Huntley's doomed survivor, are given moments of such character-defining brilliance that we immediately come to care about them and their fate.
As the film's lead character, Cillian Murphy carefully constructs a journey from a humane presence to hard-edged hero, whereas Naomie Harris takes the audience on the opposite journey. Both actors accomplish their separate stories with excellent humanity, vulnerability and grit. As the father and daughter in the middle of the crisis, Brendan Gleeson and Megan Burns are both superb, creating a believable bond between the two characters which is at times extremely powerful. A gut-wrenching moment when Gleeson's character is struggling to say goodbye to his daughter is both incredibly poignant and grippingly urgent, and it is absolutely devastating to watch. And finally, Christopher Eccleston brings a sense of flawed yet understandable humanity to Major Henry West, a soldier whose ideas about surviving the virus are almost as sinister as the Infected themselves. Many of the actors in this film have since gone on to star in major franchises (Batman, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean etc). Based on the incredible strength of their performances here, it's not difficult to see why.
Danny Boyle provides terrific direction. He ensures that the thrills and chills on display rarely ever let up, and creates several harrowing highlights. Some of the prime examples are the opening scene, a tremendously gripping sequence in which the group race to change a tyre as the Infected approach and a bloody one-man stand between Jim (Murphy) and a group of men who are holding Selena (Harris) and Hannah (Burns) hostage. However, he also provides moments of superb characterisation (a disturbing moment when Jim encounters an Infected boy shows how far the character has progressed) and moments of eerie calm (an all-out shopping spree through a deserted shop is quietly chilling).
The production is also helped immensely by an intelligent script, which asks serious questions about the nature of human rage. Indeed, in the climactic house raid, Jim is becoming what he has been fighting to survive against, in an attempt to save others. This is a horrifying moment when the writers and Boyle are delving into the central idea of the storyline, rather than shying from it like other horror films. Also, the film offers a realistically powerful view on how different humans may react in such a horrifyingly hopeless situation, creating a smartly grim view on the proceedings. There is also some clever social commentary here. One character comments on how ironic it is to need rain so badly in England, while it is a genuine shock to see London in such a barren, deserted state.
Overall, 28 Days Later is a thrilling, chilling and thoughtful look at how humanity can survive in the face of great peril. I admit that the ending wasn't as strong as it could have been, but neither was it as weak as it could have been. I was thoroughly gripped by this film, and even though I am not the world's biggest horror fan, I am not willing to let that get in the way of me recognising a great film when I see one.